Ideas for novels are all around us. I find myself eavesdropping on conversations while out to dinner or standing in line at the supermarket. I hope I’ll remember the key word or phrase that triggered an idea for a novel. Most often I don’t. I have plenty of pads with lines and sentences scribbled on them, but I no longer remember the framework for the novel. But that’s fine. I’ll soon hear something else that will trigger an idea. Often family and friends will see me drift off while we are out and depending on their mood, they either simply roll their eyes knowing I’m off in search of the next great American novel or filming a movie in my head or they snap at me to come back to Earth. Stories fascinate me. Everyone has one, but I must admit some are better at sharing him or her than others. My Aunt Rose had a great many stories and I can still see her blue eyes dance as she told them. The same story was never told in quite the same manner. She’d always add a new detail or change the atmosphere ever so slightly that even though you’d heard the story before, it became new. I wish I had her gift. It’s probably why when I write I continually search for that one line that will define a character or moment. One of my favorite creations are the lists that Gertrude keeps making in In Hitler’s Backyard. I like way the lists change. Talking with a book club at a local library I was thrilled when reader asked me why her lists changed. It was great to be able to explore my thinking with an audience. Since we write alone, it’s always a thrill to explain and share the process. While conversations and family stories spark ideas, many ideas in my future writing folder are newspaper articles with sentences with exclamation marks across them. Recently I saw a headline about Kindertransport and its 75th anniversary. Immediately I saw children on a boat, longing for their parents, and their fear of what kind of life lay ahead of them. I wondered if there was a way to write a story about Kindertransport and the Orphan Trains. Should it be historical fiction or narrative nonfiction? I think in then end it would/will be historical fiction as I’m a lousy fact checker and don’t want facts to get in the way of my narrative. (Though I must admit having a person who had lived the narrative of In Hitler’s Backyard proved a wonderful source and made the novel seem much more real.) I would have the book fact checked, just by a person who is better at that than I am. Then there was the story about the man who has lived a quiet life since World War II, but it turns out he was a Nazi guard. I guess the word is alleged as he is being brought to trial. This is why World War II fascinates me. There are so many stories, both big and small. For example, my father never really talked about the war. I don’t think he saw horrible things. He was a navigator on a plane. He wanted to be a pilot but his eyes were too bad. I think it is the regret he was only a navigator that bothered him, not what he saw. But maybe I’m wrong. Even when he knew his time was limited, he didn’t talk about it. The woman who inspired In Hitler’s Backyard lectures locally about the war. She does it because she never wants what happened to be repeated. The cast of characters in World War II are just too fascinating and I doubt interest in it will ever wane. Teens flock to her talks and sit there fascinated. There are no vampires or romances and yet her story remains compelling. The larger theme of good versus evil is there, but I think it is the smaller stories that rivet us. I’m reading Life After Life. It’s a great read and I recommend it. It’s full of subtle details and little, everyday happenings. Yet the main character, Ursula quotes Donne, her favorite poet and other greats in literature. She is a character full of wisdom and yet as a reader, you question her choices. It’s a wonderful choice for a book club. And even better, one episode in the novel takes place at the Eagle’s Nest, the same setting as In Hitler’s Backyard. Recently a teacher told me she is using my novel to compare and contrast with Anne Frank. She wants the kids to compare their different lives. I love it. As an author, you long for people to read and discuss your book. (And let’s be honest here, to buy it, too!) I told her when she does the unit, I will happily write some questions for the kids to think and write about. I’m hoping to write a novel that is not historical in nature. But I must admit World War II keeps calling me. Maybe I’ll just keep the theme of good versus evil and see if I can write in a different time period. Stay tuned.